Zoe calls everything that is small a "Zoe one" and everything that is large a "Daddy one".. For example, when we draw (chalk, crayons, etc.), she'll say "heart".. "Zoe one, Daddy one".. and she want you to draw a small one and a large one.. I tried to teach her a middle one (as in the three bears), called a "Mommy one".. but it hasn't' stuck and I really don't want to break the cuteness, so I haven't pushed it.
Speaking of shapes, she has now learned triangle in addition to circle, star, heart.. she almost has square, but I think it is much harder to say.
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Monday, July 28, 2008
Could have danced all night
The rehearsal went well, except that we were locked out of the church and had to practice outside in the 90 degree heat.. Zoe and her dad played on the grass, and watched Dora, ate cookies, etc. Afterwards we went to the grocery store and Zoe had her second ever popsicle.. of course from a Dora box (the first Popsicle was at Mom's when the option was chocolate ice cream that I didn't want her to have)... I need to buy those tupperware home popsicle makers.
The rehearsal dinner went equally well.. In the end, Zoe had Dad, Grammpa, everyone swinging her around:
http://gallery.me.com/cashurst#100030/DSCN1090&bgcolor=black
Then there was the wedding... Zoe did not like being around me, but not being able to be with me.. (I was in the wedding line)... Luckily the church did have a crying room.. Zoe and her dad (and Uncle Jeff) watched the ceremony from there.. I could still hear her a bit, but she wasn't interrupting the ceremony...
It was one of the most beautiful ceremony.. Father Mike Rules.. hopefully I can put up the video soon.
At the reception.. we tried to finish photos.. Zoe was done being away from me... I'll put up the pictures soon.. but there was a few where Zoe is standing behind the line.. bawling her eyes out, while we were trying to smile for the photographer.. My sister, who has always been kid crazy, said, "I don't want kids"... maybe I should rent out Zoe and myself for this purpose.. sort of like that reality show.
When the party really got going, I had Zoe watching Dora.. but then the band started... Zoe loves to dance.. you couldn't take her away.. she easily danced for 1 hour, perhaps 2, we didn't leave until 11:15ish... she was still dancing.. I took her away for a diaper change.. she got away from me and ran right back to the floor. (Video soon).
The rehearsal dinner went equally well.. In the end, Zoe had Dad, Grammpa, everyone swinging her around:
http://gallery.me.com/cashurst#100030/DSCN1090&bgcolor=black
Then there was the wedding... Zoe did not like being around me, but not being able to be with me.. (I was in the wedding line)... Luckily the church did have a crying room.. Zoe and her dad (and Uncle Jeff) watched the ceremony from there.. I could still hear her a bit, but she wasn't interrupting the ceremony...
It was one of the most beautiful ceremony.. Father Mike Rules.. hopefully I can put up the video soon.
At the reception.. we tried to finish photos.. Zoe was done being away from me... I'll put up the pictures soon.. but there was a few where Zoe is standing behind the line.. bawling her eyes out, while we were trying to smile for the photographer.. My sister, who has always been kid crazy, said, "I don't want kids"... maybe I should rent out Zoe and myself for this purpose.. sort of like that reality show.
When the party really got going, I had Zoe watching Dora.. but then the band started... Zoe loves to dance.. you couldn't take her away.. she easily danced for 1 hour, perhaps 2, we didn't leave until 11:15ish... she was still dancing.. I took her away for a diaper change.. she got away from me and ran right back to the floor. (Video soon).
Trip to Utah
Well... our trip to Utah kept me offline.. nice for a change... Zoe and I had a mostly uneventful trip to Utah.. we read Dora books on the first (short) flight.. her new favorite is "Super babies".. but she also likes the school books. She slept most of the second flight.. I read.. it was nice. Rebecca and Hang picked us up and took us to my parents. This was the start of Zoe not going to be until way late.. which pretty much lasted the whole trip. I pulled out her Dora/Diego legos and she was happy to have them in her hands.
Saturday, we went to Barton's baptism... I foolishly did not bring her DVD player.. I don't know what I was thinking... I started her with cookies and crayons.. as the event started, she was saying, "Mommy, I'm crayoning"... "Mommy is crayoning"... "Mommy I tooted (repeat, loudly)"
ahhh.. so cute. She "lasted" half way, before she was running down the hallways, swinging on the doors, slaming doors... Heather's Dad came out and said she was distracting.. I gave up and took her outside to collect pine cones.
Then we went to the party at Barton's house.. it was fun.. but Zoe soon got very tired and I took her back to Mom's house because I was going to go out that night for the bachelorette party.
The party was fine.. Zoe had a good time with "Grammpa" and "Nana"... they took her next door to the trampoline.. and were impressed by her ability to bounce herself.. she loved it and refered to next door as the "park" for the rest of our trip.
The night ended when i called to check on her about 9:50pm and she was screaming.. tore my heart... I asked how long that had been going.. Mom said 10-20 minutes.. ugh.. I told her to turn on Dora, get her some milk... I drove straight home, fast.. she was tired, but sucked in by Dora/Diego.. didn't seem to notice I was home ;).. but she did fall asleep fairly fastly when we layed down.
The rest of the trip was busy.. at times, it was hard for me... Zoe is still a major Mommy's girl... Sometimes I didn't explain what I needed from my mom or sister (like the time they went shopping while I was watching Zoe running around the fountain, and then said they were sorry that they missed her playing... it is so hard to go shopping with Zoe, hardly worth it, I was a bit mad they didn't watch her while I went shopping)...
I didn't get very much of a break from her, but then again, I did enjoy being with her.. snuggling at night. As the trip went on though, we both were sleeping a little less restfully.. we both missed Bruce.
The one thing I did notice through the trip is that Zoe is really good at remembering names (I remember Bruce saying the same thing of Rachelle)... I introduced her to Auntie Margie.. and she always new her name.... that doesn't mean that she always got it right though.. she called a lot of people "Carrie".. ;) and all boys were "Tice"
Zoe had a really good time with her cousins too.. and we met up with Bruce on Thursday, then started the crazy wedding events...
Saturday, we went to Barton's baptism... I foolishly did not bring her DVD player.. I don't know what I was thinking... I started her with cookies and crayons.. as the event started, she was saying, "Mommy, I'm crayoning"... "Mommy is crayoning"... "Mommy I tooted (repeat, loudly)"
ahhh.. so cute. She "lasted" half way, before she was running down the hallways, swinging on the doors, slaming doors... Heather's Dad came out and said she was distracting.. I gave up and took her outside to collect pine cones.
Then we went to the party at Barton's house.. it was fun.. but Zoe soon got very tired and I took her back to Mom's house because I was going to go out that night for the bachelorette party.
The party was fine.. Zoe had a good time with "Grammpa" and "Nana"... they took her next door to the trampoline.. and were impressed by her ability to bounce herself.. she loved it and refered to next door as the "park" for the rest of our trip.
The night ended when i called to check on her about 9:50pm and she was screaming.. tore my heart... I asked how long that had been going.. Mom said 10-20 minutes.. ugh.. I told her to turn on Dora, get her some milk... I drove straight home, fast.. she was tired, but sucked in by Dora/Diego.. didn't seem to notice I was home ;).. but she did fall asleep fairly fastly when we layed down.
The rest of the trip was busy.. at times, it was hard for me... Zoe is still a major Mommy's girl... Sometimes I didn't explain what I needed from my mom or sister (like the time they went shopping while I was watching Zoe running around the fountain, and then said they were sorry that they missed her playing... it is so hard to go shopping with Zoe, hardly worth it, I was a bit mad they didn't watch her while I went shopping)...
I didn't get very much of a break from her, but then again, I did enjoy being with her.. snuggling at night. As the trip went on though, we both were sleeping a little less restfully.. we both missed Bruce.
The one thing I did notice through the trip is that Zoe is really good at remembering names (I remember Bruce saying the same thing of Rachelle)... I introduced her to Auntie Margie.. and she always new her name.... that doesn't mean that she always got it right though.. she called a lot of people "Carrie".. ;) and all boys were "Tice"
Zoe had a really good time with her cousins too.. and we met up with Bruce on Thursday, then started the crazy wedding events...
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
I'm teaching
I left my laptop laying out, Zoe and I showered, came back and Zoe ran to the laptop, started banging away, saying "I'm teaching, I'm teaching".
Sunday, July 13, 2008
New bed!
Zoe got her new bed yesterday.. a double... it really is huge for her, but it will grow with her. Now I need to move all of the pictures in her room and finally nail the shelves to the wall to keep her from pulling them down.
Perhaps a picture of her room could go here if I get it cleaned up today.
Perhaps a picture of her room could go here if I get it cleaned up today.
Zoe Gooch Manual and Daily routine
Zoe's morning starts about 1 or 3am, when she crawls in Bed with Mom and Dad, squirming until she falls asleep. She burrows down into Mom's armpit.. she loves to snuggle close. Then about 7am (sometimes as early as 6am, rarely 8am) she wakes up cute, snuggly, and we may play the binky game, where I steal it with my mouth (the handle) so I can see her smile. Eventually, either Mom or Dad will take her down for her "Dora" time... if it is Mom, I grab a cup of milk (usually giving her the choice of "cold or hot milk") and sometimes she'll ask for a banana or apple... then I change her diaper and she watches 1 to 3 episodes of Dora and Diego. If it is Dad, he lets her watch quite a bit more and she gets the goods like cookies, berries, and more cookies (animal crackers, so not that bad). I get her off of the Dora and Diego thing by switching to a show she likes less, such as Seseme Street, Word World, The bus show (I can't remember whats it called, but I like it). During these shows she'll go play with her Dora/Diego Legos.
Then we'll go up for a shower.. she gets naked and hops in too.
After the shower I have to wrestle a naked... I've learned that one can get her dressed fastest if she has something to say about it.. so I pick either a top or bottom, and then two of the other for her to pick from.. I've also found that sometimes a song while diapering will work (Wheels on the bus, Black sheep, row-row-row-your-boat)...
Next is breakfast.. on lazy days (or days my stomach is not up to eating), I'll make cereal and fruit.. she pretty much only likes Cherrios.. not the honey ones (I don't feed her sugary cereal), just the regular yellow box. More typically, I make us "breakfast sandwhiches"... one egg each, broken, cooked hard (in pan with lid), typically some meat like Canadian Bacon or Turkey, sometimes melted cheddar, on a english muffin with Salmon Cream Cheese. She loves it, usually eating half an english muffin herself.. but I have to feed it to her.. she is strange about those sandwhiches.. I don't cut them up anymore, she just takes bites. Sometimes, I also make Banana-chocolate chip pancakes with yogurt as dip/topping and fruit... she quite likes them too.
Then we go play.. some days she insists that we go to the park or beach, sometimes she is happy with playing in the backyard (her pool, sandbox, bike, rocks, sticks).
I try to keep her on a regular snack schedule.. fruit, cookies, drink, raisins/craisins, Veggie Booty (a favorite).. so she'll snack about 10 or 11am... as well as whenever she wakes from her nap. We try to lunch about 12..
Then she naps at 1ish, sometimes not until 2:30... I typically put her down by laying down with her and singing a song. Anna puts her down with a stroller ride and then transfering her to her bed. She naps anywhere from 1.5 to 3 hours long.
I've been trying to get her a good snack about 4 or 4:30 so that she can make it to a 6pm dinner.. although I'd prefer we ate a 5:30, but that is nearly impossible.
By 7 or 7:30 she starts to ask for her bath, or sleep.. when she starts asking it is important to get her down, otherwise she gets very hard to relax. Of course, sometimes she is not ready (due to a late nap), and I'll do bath, and then let her play for a little bit. Our sleep routine is pretty much ironed out.. Now-a-days Dad mostly does the bath. it is getting harder for me to reach into the deep tub.. if I do it, I take a bath with her. She takes a bath for about 20-30 minutes, then diaper and dressed in PJs.. then brushing her teeth (she sits on the toilet while brushing her teeth; "ahhhh" she says). Then we kiss daddy good night. I usually give her a bottle of warm milk, to work on while we are reading. We read about 4 books. I pick the books, and let her pick the order. She is now very happy with "Good night gorilla", Dr Seuess: "Hands, Hands, Finger Thumb" & "The foot book", "Down by the Bay", "Teddy bears picnic", "Harry the dirty dog", any ABC book. Then I lay down with her and sing her a song, sometimes telling her a story. She gets very clingy at this point, and I don't know how to break the habit.. I've been putting pillows, blankets, and snugglies between her and I, for her to cling onto.. but if I attempt to leave too early, she wakes up and will not sleep.. not a great habit, but it works. Its our system.
The thing I've heard about 2 year old that really works with Zoe is telling her in advance what is going on.. for the bedtime routine, I always let her know whats up next up to the sleep part. Same thing for trying to leave a park or fun task... I give her a warning.. sometimes 15 minutes, sometimes 5.. it doesn't seem that the duration matters, just the number of times she is told whats going on. Then she'll get a 1 or 2 minute warning, then a "do your last thing", then we say "good bye, see you soon" to whatever it is. With this, we've pretty much got rid of temper tantrums.. except for the ones where she can't explain what she wants.
Then we'll go up for a shower.. she gets naked and hops in too.
After the shower I have to wrestle a naked... I've learned that one can get her dressed fastest if she has something to say about it.. so I pick either a top or bottom, and then two of the other for her to pick from.. I've also found that sometimes a song while diapering will work (Wheels on the bus, Black sheep, row-row-row-your-boat)...
Next is breakfast.. on lazy days (or days my stomach is not up to eating), I'll make cereal and fruit.. she pretty much only likes Cherrios.. not the honey ones (I don't feed her sugary cereal), just the regular yellow box. More typically, I make us "breakfast sandwhiches"... one egg each, broken, cooked hard (in pan with lid), typically some meat like Canadian Bacon or Turkey, sometimes melted cheddar, on a english muffin with Salmon Cream Cheese. She loves it, usually eating half an english muffin herself.. but I have to feed it to her.. she is strange about those sandwhiches.. I don't cut them up anymore, she just takes bites. Sometimes, I also make Banana-chocolate chip pancakes with yogurt as dip/topping and fruit... she quite likes them too.
Then we go play.. some days she insists that we go to the park or beach, sometimes she is happy with playing in the backyard (her pool, sandbox, bike, rocks, sticks).
I try to keep her on a regular snack schedule.. fruit, cookies, drink, raisins/craisins, Veggie Booty (a favorite).. so she'll snack about 10 or 11am... as well as whenever she wakes from her nap. We try to lunch about 12..
Then she naps at 1ish, sometimes not until 2:30... I typically put her down by laying down with her and singing a song. Anna puts her down with a stroller ride and then transfering her to her bed. She naps anywhere from 1.5 to 3 hours long.
I've been trying to get her a good snack about 4 or 4:30 so that she can make it to a 6pm dinner.. although I'd prefer we ate a 5:30, but that is nearly impossible.
By 7 or 7:30 she starts to ask for her bath, or sleep.. when she starts asking it is important to get her down, otherwise she gets very hard to relax. Of course, sometimes she is not ready (due to a late nap), and I'll do bath, and then let her play for a little bit. Our sleep routine is pretty much ironed out.. Now-a-days Dad mostly does the bath. it is getting harder for me to reach into the deep tub.. if I do it, I take a bath with her. She takes a bath for about 20-30 minutes, then diaper and dressed in PJs.. then brushing her teeth (she sits on the toilet while brushing her teeth; "ahhhh" she says). Then we kiss daddy good night. I usually give her a bottle of warm milk, to work on while we are reading. We read about 4 books. I pick the books, and let her pick the order. She is now very happy with "Good night gorilla", Dr Seuess: "Hands, Hands, Finger Thumb" & "The foot book", "Down by the Bay", "Teddy bears picnic", "Harry the dirty dog", any ABC book. Then I lay down with her and sing her a song, sometimes telling her a story. She gets very clingy at this point, and I don't know how to break the habit.. I've been putting pillows, blankets, and snugglies between her and I, for her to cling onto.. but if I attempt to leave too early, she wakes up and will not sleep.. not a great habit, but it works. Its our system.
The thing I've heard about 2 year old that really works with Zoe is telling her in advance what is going on.. for the bedtime routine, I always let her know whats up next up to the sleep part. Same thing for trying to leave a park or fun task... I give her a warning.. sometimes 15 minutes, sometimes 5.. it doesn't seem that the duration matters, just the number of times she is told whats going on. Then she'll get a 1 or 2 minute warning, then a "do your last thing", then we say "good bye, see you soon" to whatever it is. With this, we've pretty much got rid of temper tantrums.. except for the ones where she can't explain what she wants.
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Cookies and Cookies. Run Daddy Run
Story from Dad: Typically, Dad and Zoe will let Mom sleep in, and will go down to watch Zoe's shows. One morning, Zoe and Daddy were watching Dora. Dora was eating cookies.. so Zoe decided she needed cookies... and asked Daddy for them. Daddy said, "Zoe you can't just have cookies. Do you want Cookies and Blueberries or Cookies and strawberries." Zoe replied "Cookies and Cookies. Run Daddy Run" and pointed him toward the stairs.
Like Father, Like Daughter
Taken July 10th, 2008... Zoe had been playing in the sandbox... and ate some... the likenss is uncanny.
No more nursing
Well, last Friday I started my attempt at quiting nursing Zoe cold turkey.. it was a silly thing to do without having done the research.. as a result, I spent 48 hours completely engorged and miserable.. Zoe on the other hand was managing just fine, asside from the major kicks she kept giving me when she crawled into our bed about 3am... but over the days after Friday, it got less and less... my pain however was not abated by the 3 showers a day to keep it from matastiss, stuffing my bra with cabbage leafs, trying to get some relief.. in the end Sunday after noon I finally grabbed Zoe and had her drain it off.. that was the last time she nursed, and well I'm fine now.. haven't nursed since Sunday.
My Name is Zoe
Zoe definitely knows her name and says, "My name is Zoe", sounds like "Sue-e" or "Shu-e".. I have it on video from the morning of the 12th of July. It was recorded on my handi-cam, with Zoe looking at the video as I was recording, so she was talking to herself. The headband is one of mine that she walks around with.. I love the way it looks..but trust me, it doesn't go on very often, and certainly not if Mommy helps in anyway.
Gotta love the sound effects too!
Gotta love the sound effects too!
Diego Legos: Catching up...
I swear I posted about Zoe and her Diego legos... but I can't find it... she loves them.. it came with a car, Diego, and Baby Jaguar (who says "Mauw Mauw"). These videos are from June 30, 2008.
In this one, Diego and Baby Jaguar are Kissing.. and I think she says "I love you" too.
In this one, Diego and Baby Jaguar are Kissing.. and I think she says "I love you" too.
Friday, July 4, 2008
Zoe speaking
Zoe is getting to be quite the talker.. yesterday morning she told me 'My name is "Suoe" '... it is pretty cute to hear her say it.. then she was grabbing me around the legs and finally said "I love Mommy".. very sweet.
She still likes to shower with me... often she will not get out.. and I exit, leaving the water on drip.
Right now she is ringing the necks of her kittens.., loving them, "I kissing".. covering them with blankets, etc.
Her favorite is now Diego.. she always is playing with Diego.
She still likes to shower with me... often she will not get out.. and I exit, leaving the water on drip.
Right now she is ringing the necks of her kittens.., loving them, "I kissing".. covering them with blankets, etc.
Her favorite is now Diego.. she always is playing with Diego.
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